PoliSci 40 FINAL EXAM - ID Terms - UCLA

Winter 2025 Professor Tausonovitch

Affective Polarization

The growing emotional divide between political parties, where partisans dislike and distrust the opposing side.

Agency Loss

When elected representatives fail to act in the best interests of their constituents.

• due to various factors like personal interests, external pressures, lobbyist influence

Articles of Confederation

The first U.S. governing document (1781–1789), which created a weak federal central government.

• emphasized state supremacy/power.

Australian Ballot

a voting method that provides secrecy in the electoral process, enhancing the electoral system by allowing voters to cast their votes in private without fear of intimidation or coercion.

Bicameralism

A legislature with two chambers: the U.S. Congress which includes the House and Senate.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• landmark Supreme Court case ruling racial segregation in public school is unconstitutional, which advanced civil rights.

• overruled Plessy v Ferguson - which originally ruled separate but equal constitutional at the time

Buckley v. Valeo

Supreme Court case ruling that personal campaign spending is protected free speech.

Checks and Balances

A system where branches of government limit each other’s power to prevent tyranny.

Cloture Rule

A Senate rule to end a delay of a bill being passed (filibuster) with 2/3 majority vote.

Correlation is Not Causation

The principle that just because two things happen together doesn’t mean one caused the other.

Condorcet’s Jury Theorem

suggests that a group decision-making process (like a jury or a democratic election) is more likely to reach a correct outcome than a single individual, provided each voter has a probability of being correct that is greater than 50% to make correct decisions if members vote independently.

Conference Committee

A committee that resolves House-Senate differences in bills.

De Facto Segregation

Segregation that happens by social or economic factors, not law.

ex.) housing, schooling, employment

Divided Government

When different parties control the presidency and Congress.

Dominant Strategy

In game theory, the best action regardless of others' choices.

Duverger’s Law

The principle that single-member, plurality elections favor a two-party system.

Electoral College

The system that elects the U.S. president, where states have electors based on representation in Congress.

Enumerated Powers

Powers explicitly granted to Congress in the Constitution.

Executive Order

A directive from the president with the force of law to the executive branch to be done.

Filibuster

A Senate tactic to delay a vote on a bill by extended debate on the floor.

Federalist

Supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong national government.

Free-Rider Problem

When individuals benefit from a public good without contributing to the cost of it.

Gerrymandering

Manipulating district boundaries to favor one party

• packing - drawing lines to favor the most same-party votes

• cracking - dividing up district to slip up same-party votes

Great Compromise

The agreement creating a bicameral Congress with representation based on both population and equal state representation.

Ideological Polarization

increasing division between political parties or groups based on ideological beliefs, values, and policy preferences. As polarization intensifies, members of different political factions become more extreme in their positions, reducing the likelihood of compromise and bipartisan cooperation.

Incumbency Advantage

The electoral benefits of holding office such as name recognition on ballot and established reputation.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws enforcing racial segregation in the South.

Judicial Review

The Supreme Court’s power to declare laws unconstitutional.

Latent Opinion

attitudes that are not immediately observable in public opinion polls but can emerge in response to political events or decisions.

Motivated Reasoning

Interpreting information in a way that supports preexisting beliefs.

Lobbying

Efforts by interest groups to influence policymakers.

Nationalization of Politics

process when political issues, campaigns, and voter behavior become shaped by national-level concerns rather than local or state-specific issues.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Gives Congress implied powers beyond those listed in the Constitution.

Normative Claim

An opinion statement about how things should be, not about how they currently are.

Originalism

The belief that the Constitution should be interpreted as it was originally intended.

Party Identification

A person’s psychological attachment to a political party.

This could be influenced by social class, family, upbringing, etc.

Party Sorting

The process where people align more strictly with their party’s ideology.

ex.) liberals align with Democrats and conservatives align with Republicans

Peer Review

• process by which scholarly research in politics is evaluated by experts in the field before they’re published in academic journals.

• review ensures the quality, credibility, and accuracy of political studies

Performance Voting

Voting based on a politician’s past/current performance rather than political party.

Primary Election

An election to choose each political party’s nominee.

Prisoner's Dilemma

• In game theory, a scenario where individuals act in self-interest rather than cooperatively ending in the worse outcome.

• In politics, parties, candidates, or countries would benefit from mutual cooperation but instead choose self-interested strategies that lead to worse outcomes for all.

Proportional Representation

• electoral system in which political parties or candidates receive seats in a legislature in proportion to the number of votes they receive

• Unlike winner-takes-all systems, PR ensures that minority parties have representation, leading to a more diverse and multiparty political landscape.

Positive Claim

A factual statement about what currently is.

Random Digit Dial Poll

survey method used to collect public opinion data by randomly generating phone numbers to contact potential respondents. This technique ensures a more representative sample by including both listed and unlisted numbers, as well as cell phones and landlines.

Replication Crisis

The inability to reproduce research results.

• in politics this can be poll data, or political science research data

Separation of Powers

Dividing government powers among 3 branches.

Separate but Equal

The doctrine upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson that justified racial segregation.

• stated as long as facilities provided to both races were of equal quality, segregation did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of 14th Amendment.

Speaker of the House

• leader of the dominant political party in the House.

• Legislative leader

Stare Decisis

The principle that courts have the obligation to follow established precedents set by previous court decisions when ruling on similar cases.

Status Quo Bias

The tendency and bias to prefer and vote fore existing conditions over change.

• resistance to progressivism or new policies, laws, etc.

Supermajority

A requirement that exceeds a simple majority for significant legislation.

• typically 2/3rds or 3/5ths majority to pass significant legislation

Ticket Splitting

Voting for candidates from different parties in the same election on the ballot.

Unanimous Consent

A procedural agreement in the Senate that speeds up legislative action. It requires all senators to agree to proceed with a measure without a formal vote.

Veto

• The president’s constitutional power to reject a bill passed by Congress, preventing it from becoming law

• action can be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate

• veto is a critical check on legislative authority, allowing the president to influence the legislative process and ensure that laws align with the administration's policy goals.

Wealth Inequality

• refers to the unequal distribution of economic resources among individuals.

• ex.) including income disparity, differences in net worth, and access to economic opportunities.

• caused by factors such as education, employment opportunities, inheritance, and systemic issues like discrimination.

Writ of Certiorari

A Supreme Court order directing lower court to send up records of a lower court case to review.

Civil Rights

protections by the government

ex.) freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press

Civil Liberties

Protections from the government

ex.) discrimination, segregation

Dred Scott v Sandford (1857)

landmark supreme court case that rules slave descendant are not entitled to freedom even in free states

13th Amendment

• abolishes slavery

14th amendment

guarantees citizenship to all persons born on US soil including former slaves

15th amendment

• prohibits denial of voting rights on account of race

“Reconstruction” Era

• rein of terror by private citizens where they deny rights to black Americans

• the rights black Americans were fighting for were revoked

• in some states at the time, the blacks voting rights were taken away again

• In the South, black Americans were not treated fairly

“Jim Crow” laws

effectively deny voting rights to Black Americans

Plessy v Ferguson

landmark supreme court case - enshrines Jim Crow in law as “separate but equal”

Brown v board of Education

• landmark supreme court case - overrules Plessy v Ferguson

• Separate is UNEQUAL.

Civil rights Act

addresses discrimination and segregation

reduces it, doesn’t end it

Voting Rights Act

1965 protects Black Americans voting rights

Missouri Compromise

law passed in 1820 that temporarily resolved the debate over slavery in new states. It admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, while also prohibiting slavery north of the 36° 30' latitude line

Bureaucracy

• a hierarchical administrative system governing a large, complex institution. 

1. Implement laws and policy goals.

2. Make and enforce rules.

3. Sometimes settle disputes.

4. Create public goods.

The Iron Triangle

relationship between Congress, government bureacracy (agencies), and lobby interest groups.

• Each group does some action that will help the other group, creating a lasting and unbreakable bond between the three.

Government Agencies

Permanent or semi-permanent organizations within government responsible for overseeing or administering a specific sector or area of the US government.

Interest Groups (Lobbying)

groups of people acting together to influence legislation within government or to voice a common concern.

Red Tape

excessive bureaucracy and complicated rules and procedures that delay progress and action, often involving unnecessary paperwork and regulations

The Federal Reserve

central banking system of the US

Principal Agent Problem

arises when elected officials (agents) prioritize their own interests or those of specific groups over the interests of the public (principals), potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes and a lack of accountability

Lobbying

he practice of individuals or interest groups attempting to influence government decisions, particularly legislation, through communication and persuasion